Hank, I agree & disagree [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
I agree that the father is thinking, on some level, about the "contributing something to society" aspect--in other words, perhaps, you know, "Son, why don't you do something respectable?" sort of thing. No doubt that's a big factor here. (Note how his father would feel differently if it were "chess" instead of "poker")
I disagree with that line of thinking, personally, though. I mean, honestly, he's ballparked his father's salary at 600-700k minimum. Could be much more, for all I know. A salary a tenth of that would be a good living for most folks...but would most doctors earning at that level be willing to do the same work for 1/10th the pay? Maybe elsewhere in the world--not in America.
From another angle, that six-figure (plus) salary isn't appearing out of nowhere. Somebody's paying for it, somewhere...it's a supply & demand market. His father makes that money not because he's a doctor and in a respected profession, but because he has skills/experise that few others/none have. Period.
To the OP: here's Daniel Negreanu's take on it, FWIW (no special endorsement...randomly ran across a link at Card Player and realized this was similar to the discussion here):
http://www.cardplayer.com/poker_maga...199&m_id=7